Lausanne , Switzerland -LRB- CNN -RRB- A roller-coaster series of talks wrapped up Thursday in Lausanne as a group of world powers known as the P5 +1 reached a framework agreement with Iran over the country 's nuclear program .

The success of that agreement remains to be seen . The parties have until the end to June to work out the details and put the plan to paper . But the talks this week were , nevertheless , historic , particularly for the otherwise frozen U.S.-Iranian relationship .

But that 's not to say they were glamorous . In fact , the negotiations this week provided a modern demonstration of diplomacy at its best , but also at its most hectic .

Tucked amid the Swiss Alps on the shores of Lake Geneva , Lausanne is certainly one of the more scenic places to be trapped for talks -- a sort of Camp David for the rich and famous .

But make no mistake : The site of these negotiations is also a gilded cage .

Over the course of the eight-day round of talks , negotiators , their delegations , their security details and reporters were confined primarily to the immediate area around the five-star Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel , which played host to the negotiations .

This is n't the first time the hotel has provided a backdrop to a major diplomatic event . In 1923 , the Treaty of Lausanne was signed there , breaking up the Ottoman Empire and defining the borders of modern-day Turkey .

More recently , the hotel has been a getaway for wealthy tourists and the occasional celebrity .

Coco Chanel famously lived there in the late 1940s and early 1950s , and even had her dog buried on the hotel grounds , some reports say .

` It was tough , very intense at times '

The setting is idyllic , and the grounds are beautifully maintained . The first-floor terrace even features a large-scale chess board , which served this week as an artful analogy for the game of nuclear chess going on just inside .

For the negotiators , the past week was marked by a marathon run of meetings , sometimes lasting throughout the night .

In an interview with CNN shortly after the framework agreement was announced , Secretary of State John Kerry said , `` I think there was a seriousness of purpose '' in meetings with the Iranians .

`` People negotiated hard , '' he added . `` It was tough , very intense at times , sometimes emotional and confrontational . ''

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif even as the talks were still going on .

Over the past 18 months since talks began , Zarif said , negotiators have `` developed personal respect '' for one another , even though serious mistrust still exists between Iran and the Western powers .

`` We have a very serious problem of confidence -- mutual lack of confidence we need to address -- and we hope that this process will remedy some of that , '' he added .

Media give-and-take

Zarif made these comments to reporters who swarmed him during an afternoon walk along the lake Thursday . Such ambushes were a frequent occurrence during the talks as reporters tried to supplement what little information was being circulated through official channels .

Kerry was seen riding a bike on at least one occasion and dining at a nearby crepery on another , with both occasions prompting a cacophony of camera flashes .

Reporters briefly followed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as he took a morning jog shortly after his arrival in Lausanne on Sunday .

And Zarif took several lakeside walks with advisers and security personnel , perhaps just hoping to take in the view , but certainly not making any effort to bypass the area where television cameras were staked out around the clock .

The officials sometimes bemoaned the media circus , but they also used the attention to bolster their demands during negotiations , making statements to reporters that they hoped strengthened their footing in talks with their foreign counterparts .

`` People often use you guys to deliver messages to the negotiation , '' a senior administration official who asked not to be named told reporters on the flight back to Lausanne , `` as do the Iranians . ''

`` I think they 're quite skilled , actually , at using the media to deliver messages and to try to shape the frame of the negotiation , '' the official said .

Different orbits

More than 600 reporters were credentialed to cover the talks this week . Many of these were based in a large workspace at the nearby Olympic Museum .

Meanwhile , the traveling press corps covering the foreign ministers were given coveted red badges , allowing them access to the hotel , where the talks took place .

While these journalists had a bit more access to officials , they were usually cordoned off inside a couple of claustrophobic media rooms and barred access to most of the building , including the hotel 's reception desk , the first-floor restrooms and the two-Michelin-star restaurant 's entrees , costing 200 francs or more .

Many journalists found refuge in the more comfortable downstairs bar , a shorter walk from the cameras and satellite trucks used around the clock by television reporters on a rolling deadline .

For meals , the crowd dispersed to a dozen or so nearby restaurants , where they could enjoy 25-franc pizzas and 60-franc hamburgers , washed down with 8-franc bottles of water , of course .

Also popular : a Thai place around the corner that offered quick takeout -- a plus for reporters on a deadline .

` We 'd all take deep breaths and try again '

In the closed-off wings of the Beau-Rivage , the pace of meetings was frantic as different subsets of delegates gathered in ornate conference rooms .

There was a sense of urgency , both before and after the initial March 31 deadline passed , to reach a final understanding so the foreign ministers could leave Switzerland ahead of other time commitments , not to mention the Easter holiday .

The process was further complicated by restrictions on the flight crew for Kerry 's plane , which could stay on standby at the airport for only a limited number of hours in a given time period .

`` We 'd get close , we kept on changing the plane schedule , '' a senior administration official told reporters . `` It would go , it would n't go ; we had to reset the clock . ''

On the evening the understanding was finally announced , the window had already lapsed , requiring Kerry and his team to depart at 3 a.m. Friday .

There were `` many moments -LRB- throughout the negotiations -RRB- when we thought we 'd call it a day , call it a night , decide we 'd gone as far as we could go , '' said the official , who briefed reporters on Kerry 's plane . `` Then we 'd all take deep breaths and try again . ''

But perhaps the most difficult night for negotiators was between Wednesday and Thursday , just before the final sticking points were resolved for a deal .

`` It was a very , very intense , '' said the official . `` It went from 9 -- about 9 in the evening until 6 in the morning when we all decided we 'd reached a couple of roadblocks , did n't know whether we 'd be able to get past them , and we were all utterly , utterly exhausted . ''

`` So we all went to sleep by maybe 7 , got up again and started again about 9:30 , and engaged on what we thought were the really final issues , '' the official added .

Rushing to report the agreement

That morning , the deal began to solidify , and plans for the announcement were set into motion .

The announcement that an agreement had been reached sparked some chaos .

It was first sent out by the European delegation , which spread the word to its traveling press corps even as negotiators were still meeting .

As news began to get out , one European reporter ran frantically into the media area at the hotel , urging everyone to listen .

His message : There 's going to be an announcement . There are buses waiting to take you to the auditorium of a nearby university where it will take place .

And with that , the room devolved into chaos as journalists ran for the doors . The eight-day-long diplomatic event had hit its crescendo before finally subsiding .

By midday Friday , the delegations had left Lausanne , along with most of the media , returning the scenic Swiss city to its more tranquil pace .

@highlight

This week 's talks on an Iranian nuclear deal framework are historic

@highlight

The negotiations demonstrated diplomacy at its best , but also at its most hectic

@highlight

Reporters resorted to ambushes to talk to officials ; negotiations were `` sometimes emotional and confrontational ''